Sunday, 19 July 2009

Donauwellen (Waves of the Danube)....sort of

I have two options here:

·Be pretentious·Be honest

If I was being pretentious I’d say this is my ‘deconstruction’ of the German Donauwellen cake and, rather than serve it as it’s meant to be with the custard layered between the cake and the ganache, I decided to serve it on the side, thus giving a classic a modern twist....made it my own....put my stamp on it – you get the idea.

If I was being honest I’d say that the custard recipe I followed didn’t work and, desperate for my bed, I decided to abandon the custard, get the ganache on the cake and go out the next morning and buy ready-made custard.

You decide which version you prefer.

Custard disaster aside (curses, have I given away which of the two scenarios was the truth?), this is a lovely cake and the ganache is stunningly silky and rich.I have a sweet tooth and am not usually a fan of the more bitter chocolate, but here it works like a dream.This ganache will definitely be added to my “classic components” list and used in future recipes.It’s nice to have a stockpile of great components – the perfect Genoese sponge, vanilla biscuit,Swiss meringue buttercream and cupcake sponge, etc that you can use time and time again.

Look how shiny the ganache is:

The cake could’ve done with more cherries as the slightly tart morello cherries ‘pop’ deliciously against the chocolate.In the recipe below I’ve set out the volume I used, and the volume I’d use next time.

The “waves” part of the name is represented by the two tone sponge.I am always fond of two tone sponges and it reminded me of the Polish Babka I made a while back.

As is often the way, the cakes that prove the most “challenging” and have you pulling your hair out in despair late at night, actually turn out to be the tastiest.It’s like the cake rewards you for your troubles!

Incidentally,thanks for all your comments re:Blogger problems. I think I've solved my problem with uploading photos - it was because I'd upgraded to Internet Explorer 8; it seems there are all sorts of problems caused by this - particularly with regard to Blogger. I'm now using Google Chrome and, touch wood, all is ok.

Never admit you mistakes! It was always ment to be the way you made it HAH. I have that problem I serve a dessert I have had to do some creative rethinking on and I say, "it would have been better but I screwed up x." Really no one knows and it taste good anyways!

Read this great novel!

Look at this great website

Follow my ambitious attempt to find a recipe for a cake, biscuit, pie or tart for every single one of the 39 traditional English counties!

The Caked Crusader and Boy Wonder

Cartoon by Cakeyboi

About Me

So, the answer to the question you’re all asking: who am I? Well, a superhero never reveals their identity. I think it’s stated somewhere in the contract when you sign up for superhero-dom. Let’s just call me THE CAKED CRUSADER. By day (and night if I’m being honest) a mild-mannered City professional, but at weekends I become THE CAKED CRUSADER. Tirelessly fighting anti-cake propaganda and cake-related injustices – for SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE, ALWAYS NEEDS CAKE (we’ll just skip over the fact that it’s usually me).

Batman’s got the batmobile, batcave etc. Superman does just great what with being able to fly and being really strong. Spiderman’s got that web thing going on. But I have better than them. For I have a credit card and could get one of these:

The purpose of my blog is simple – to spread the word that CAKE IS GOOD.Yes, it is calorific; that is why it tastes so nice.Yes, too much of it is bad for you; that’s what ‘too much’ means.Yes, we’re all told to eat healthily and we know that we should. But ask yourself this – and look very deeply into your soul before answering – when has a cup of tea and a carrot ever cheered you up? However, put that carrot into a cake and happiness will ensue. Quod erat demonstrandum – CAKE IS GOOD.

This site will catalogue cakes I have unleashed unto the world and my thoughts thereon.

By the way, I will never recommend how many portions you should get out of a cake because we’re all different. Plus, it will be very embarrassing when I say it serves 4 and you get 20 portions out of it.

WARNING: Too much time spent on this blog may cause hunger.

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Cake Achievement in Film and Television Arts (CAFTA)

Have you seen a cake in a film or tv show that deserves recognition? Has a cupcake upstaged a beefcake?

If so, please let me know and that cake could win a coveted CAFTA award. Email me your suggestions, with a photo of the cake if possible.

About Me

I am a 40-something Chartered Accountant working in the square mile.
My main hobbies at the moment are baking, and setting the world record for the number of cake tins owned by one person.
I spend far too much time watching Spongebob Squarepants and would love to try a Krabby Patty...I know, I know - it's not real.